The Kingfish Company announced today that its founder and CEO, Ohad Maiman, is stepping aside from his role as CEO to assume an advisory role. In his new function, Maiman will continue to support "as an active founder" of the company's development in the United States and advise management and the board of directors. Hans den Bieman, until now executive chairman, will act as interim CEO while a long-term replacement is sought.
In the letter sent to the staff announcing this change, Maiman expressed his pride in how far the company has come since its inception. "Building The Kingfish Company over the last seven years from a PowerPoint presentation to a sector leader as founder/CEO has been an honor and a privilege. I am immensely proud of how far we have come in proving the business case for land-based Yellowtail Kingfish, and grateful to have had the chance to work with some of the most talented and capable professionals in the business", he said.
"As the company developed through the startup and scale up phases and has reached a mature significant operational scale with proven sector leading KPIs, and with a strong leadership team in place across our vertically integrated departments; I have decided that now would be a good time to hand off the CEO role, and have worked closely with the board to ensure a smooth transition", Ohad Maiman stated. "I will continue to closely advise management and the Board and support The Kingfish Company as it continues to build on its first mover position and deliver on its immense expansion potential, and will personally look to develop and support other disruptive technologies and species in the sector", he concluded.
The company will search for a long-term replacement for Maiman. Until it is found, the company's executive chairman, Hans den Bieman, will act as interim CEO. To this end, he has resigned as a member of the supervisory board and an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders will be called to, among other things, formalize his position. Den Bieman has worked closely with Maiman since the company's inception.
"Over the last seven years I have worked closely with Ohad and was thoroughly impressed with his vision, relentless hard work, and his ability as founder and CEO to build and grow the company from an idea into an industry leading full-scale international operation", claimed den Bieman. "This is a natural evolution for a founder that has brought the company to a strong and healthy position, and as interim CEO I will work closely with Ohad through this transition period, while supporting the company's solid operation until a permanent replacement has been identified", he said.
The Kingfish Company is a pioneer and leader in sustainable land-based aquaculture whose main product is the yellowtail kingfish. Their production is based on advanced recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), which protect biodiversity and ensure biosecurity. They prioritize animal welfare and fish are farmed without the use of antibiotics or vaccines. The operations run on 100% renewable energy and seawater to avoid wasting fresh water. Their products are certified and approved as sustainable and environmentally friendly by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), and British Retail Consortium (BRC). The company has recently announced strong volume growth and an increase in selling prices, as well as the final approval of the necessary permits to begin construction of its facility in Maine, USA.